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AUGUST 5, 2015 QUICK NEWS Chrysler makes record- THE DEATH OF FLASH setting recall

Special Olympic World On July 12th Hacking Team (an internet surveillance company) hacked Adobe Games opening ceremony Flash exposing multiple flaws in the Adobe system that could potentially allow hackers to take over users devices and steal information. Shortly after, Target uses Facebook profiles to furnish your companies began responding. reacted the most swiftly, blocking the dorm room Flash plugin from the browser. Facebook’s chief security officer Alex Stamos, followed Mozilla’s lead and has called for a set “death” date for Adobe Apple Watch may soon Flash. announced that as of September 1st it will default to pausing feature ads Flash content on Chrome (with roughly 28% market share). Apple has taken Nature Valley shows Flash off as the default but currently still allows users to download the software if how children are addicted desired on . Microsoft, realizing that video plugins like are to technology becoming less necessary, announced an end-of-life cycle for their Silverlight New Agency to video ( will not support Silverlight). Currently, 11 Focus on Developing still uses the Adobe Flash player by default. Many other services and ads still rely on Flash, but the number has been declining, marking the demise of video plugins and the beginning of a rapid adoption of HTML5. Friendly HTML5 Display Ads While this most recent incident has brought media attention, Flash has been under fire for quite some time. Flash is, as Wired writes, a “closed, proprietary system on a web that deserves open standards. It’s a popular punching bag for WHAT’S hackers, which puts users at risk over and over again.” However, even with the TRENDING NOW? flaws, this is not the end for Flash just yet. The majority of ads as well as video APPS: players like Instant Video (on Chrome) and Facebook (some browsers) Jet, Blue Apron, still run on flash as well. Firefox even reintroduced Flash support a week after Shrink, Meetup blocking it once a secure update arrived.

HASHTAGS: Adobe continues to try to address the problems found in their Flash player, #WhenTrumpIsElected releasing multiple statements claiming the issues are fixed: “Flash Player is one #Boston2024 #HitchBOT of the most ubiquitous and widely distributed pieces of software in the world, and as such, is a target of malicious hackers. We are actively working to improve UPCOMING EVENTS: Flash Player security, and as we did in this case, will work to quickly address § Black Hat USA issues when they are discovered.” Basically Adobe is admitting that Flash is August 1–6 constantly vulnerable and they cannot see or block an attack on Flash until it has

§ VMworld already occurred. Wired writes, “As quickly as Adobe can beat back trouble, August 30–September 3 more pops up. It’s a never ending game of Whack-a-Mole.”

§ Techweek November 9–15 HTML5 solves many of the issues Flash poses, particularly for video. HTML5 video is now the default on YouTube. YouTube began running HTML5 back in § Pax 2010 but it was highly experimental. Since then, HTML5 has matured as August 28-31 browser vendors have added some of the features that were missing in early § Twitch Con versions. By switching to HTML5, YouTube can now also make wider use of September 25–26 Google’s VP9 (which takes raw video data and shrinks it into a

manageable amount of data). YouTube says this switch allows videos to start 15

to 80 percent faster (based on video length) and reduces the average bandwidth

needed to stream a video by 35 percent. It especially comes in handy when SOURCES streaming 4k and other high-resolution videos. Mozilla Blocks Flash, Encourages HTML5 Adoption In a report from IAB in March of this year, HTML5 was shown off for its “Mobile Opportunity.” According to the S.M.A.R.T. report, video ads using HTML5 in rich Press Pause: Google Chrome and Flash Ads media or video ads preform much better than a standard “Flash” banner. These video and rich media ads will continue to evolve as mobile devices and HTML5 What is Adobe Flash, and evolve. MediaPost recently published an article on new agencies, who focus How Can You Get Rid of It? solely on creating HTML5 display for all platforms in hopes to lead and control Mozilla Firefox kills Flash the space for specializing in creating HTML5 display advertising for ad agencies by default, security chief transitioning to HTML display ads. Soon more companies may jump to do the calls for Adobe to issue and end-of-life date same, creating in house operations (which many have already), as the trend of Flash to HTML5 becomes a priority for brands and agencies. Flash. Must. Die.

New Agency to Focus on HTML5 has not just grown in popularity because of safety. Websites have Developing Google Chrome- switched to HTML5 for a responsive design format where they are automatically Friendly HTML5 Display Ads optimized for viewing across all devices (mobile, tablet and PC). HTML5 allows for easy reading, navigation and minimum resize panning and scrolling. Because HTML5 can run graphics and video without plugins, it is well on the way to taking over mobile advertising. While HTML5 is gaining the support of the biggest browsers on the internet, Flash still has a place in the advertising industry, but that space is being thawed out due to all the factors listed above.

By Connor Damon Media Intern

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS & THE FUTURE?

§ When will Flash phase out completely? How will Adobe compete in a plug-in-less world?

§ Will HTML5 have some of the same problems with security that Flash has as it is developed further? Will it ever be able to run one code on every platform?

§ How long will it take for the advertising industry to adjust to HTML5 and how will HTML5 transform advertisements on mobile and other platforms?

§ Does Google have an ulterior motive for the transition to HTML5? Because HTML5 ads are heavier, ad serving will increase and Google happens to own the biggest 3rd party ad server (DoubleClick); are they pushing this switch for security reasons or profit?